The Delano Manongs: Forgotten Heroes of the UFW

Nominated for 2015 Emmy in Cultural/Historical Program Special CategoryThe Delano Manongs tells the unknown history of a group of Filipino farmworkers in Delano, California who toiled under the yoke of racism for decades, then rose up in their twilight years to fight for fair wages and ethical work conditions. The Manongs (A Manong is a Filipino term of respect for an older man) instigated one of the American labor movement’s finest hours – the Great Grape Strike of 1965 that brought about the creation of the United Farm Workers Union (UFW) and a successful joining of the Filipino and Chicano (Mexican-American) labor groups.The documentary weaves together archival footage, present day footage and interviews with key leaders, participants, and historians to put the Manongs’ story in a historical and modern day context, from the time they arrived to the US in the ’20s and ’30s to the time of their demise in the ’70s and ’80s, and the significance of their legacy to thousands of Filipino Americans.